Neighbors To Watch Out For
by LordNegaduck
Summary: Drake Mallard has new neighbors, but he doesn't like Gosalyn to hang around with their daughter.  Is he being a paranoid father, or is the Darkwing Duck side of him sensing something more sinister?  Negaduck in future chapters!
1. Egos And Hungry Beaks

Author's Notes: First, A GREAT BIG THANK YOU goes to LuvvyDuck and Luckyduck29 for proofreading this story to make sure there are no characterization and grammatical errors. And  
thanks also to LuvvyDuck who gave The Ducky the courage and initial inspiration to write this  
story. Like Darkwing Duck once said, "All a hero needs is courage, confidence, and a clean cape."

This is my first solo, non-role played story, so I really hope that ya enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Darkwing Duck, Gosalyn, Launchpad, and any other recognizable Darkwing Duck character mentioned here in this story is copyright Disney.

Chapter 1: Egos and Hungry Beaks

Drake Mallard arose from his peaceful slumber this sunny and warm morning. During the week, Drake usually kept a pretty hectic schedule trying to balance taking his ever active daughter to school, to her hockey practice in the winter and to her soccer practice in the spring. On top of it all, at night Drake had to don the aqua turtle-neck shirt, purple double-breasted coat, purple and hot pink cape, and grey fedora to become Saint Canard's fearless crime fighter, Darkwing Duck.

On Sundays, Drake liked to relax and take a long-deserved break from his stressed life and spend some quality time with his fourteen year old daughter, Gosalyn, and his crash-happy avian pilot, Launchpad McQuack.

After Drake showered and brushed his teeth, he came downstairs to greet Launchpad, who was already dressed in his burgundy shirt, tan aviator's scarf and tan pants. Gosalyn, on the other hand, was still wearing her light green pajamas that had a picture of Gizmoduck plastered across the front of her shirt. They were both sitting at the square white kitchen table with forks in hand, waiting for a certain mallard to start breakfast.

Drake, who was still dressed in his purple robe, slowly came through the double white kitchen doors, dragging his webbed feet across the grey linoleum-tiled floor, and found his way to the spigot to fill the coffeepot with water. He started the coffee, and placed a couple of slices of white bread in the toaster, only to turn around, still groggy, and focus directly on Gosalyn's shirt. Drake scowled.

"Gosalyn, I thought I told you to throw those pajamas away! You know I HATE it when you wear that shirt with that mindless rolling garbage can that loves to talk his trash!"

Gosalyn rolled her eyes, since she heard this speech daily since the day Gizmoduck came to Saint Canard to aid police in the investigation of the disappearing race horses.

"Chill out, Dad! You're just jealous that Gizmoduck gets more headlines than you do!"

Launchpad then interjected with his hungry blue eyes, "Yeah, DW. You're just jealous that every time Gizmoduck makes an arrest, he always makes the front page of The Saint Canardian."

Gosalyn and Launchpad were both observing Drake's unconscious response to their pro-Gizmoduck statements; he was squeezing the bag of white bread into a tight ball and they could hear him grinding his teeth. The unappreciated hero then started to pace the floor and wondered, "Why don't I get any newspaper articles written about me every time I make a daring arrest? I mean, I am out on the mean streets of this city busting drug dealers, stopping bank robberies in progress, preventing senior citizens from getting mugged for their social security checks practically every night, risking my tail feathers for the citizens of Saint Canard, and what thanks do I get??"

Drake then squeezed both hands into tight fists, continuing, "Getting thrown into jail for obstructing justice or harassing…" The hero opened his fists, raised his hands half way and made the quotation mark hand gesture with the two inner fingers on both hands, "… 'innocent' citizens who are really crazed villains and have those numbskull cops totally fooled!"

The hero sighed and said, "When I arrest someone like Steelbeak or Negaduck, I always wonder. 'Where's the press?' I mean, would it hurt this city to give me at least a little recognition every once in a while?"

The mallard then put his white feathered hands behind his back and paced the floor.

"I mean, Tom Lockjaw has never once given me an interview, but he never misses when that canned ham comes to town. I can put away a dozen villains and no one would notice, but if Gizmoduck busts a person for being out past the curfew or for jaywalking, Tom Lockjaw is right there, giving him full recognition."

Drake just stared as Gosalyn and Launchpad rolled their eyes as they were waiting ever so patiently for their breakfast and not listening to the disgruntled hero's ranting since they had heard it all before. They both started to dream about the French toast they were about to have until the robed mallard broke their state of concentration as he screamed, "I REALLY HATE THAT GUY! I mean, I REALLY HATE that guy!"

Launchpad then asked with his sheepish blue eyes, "DW, can ya please make the French Toast? I'm really hungry!"

The pilot then rubbed his tummy for added emphasis.

"Yeah, Dad! Let's have some breakfast! We're starving!!" Gosalyn told her father, who suddenly looked down at the now scrunched ball of bread in his hands.

Launchpad chuckled and said, "gee, DW, that bread kind of reminds me of you after Grizzlikof gets done beating ya."

The angry mallard snarled and looked down at his hands and suddenly noticed what he was doing to the bread. He then tried to uncurl the white slices, so they would be more suitable for preparing Launchpad's and Gosalyn's French Toast. He went to the refrigerator and got out some eggs, butter, and bacon, then turned on the gas flame to begin making the breakfast for this hungry trio. After lining the bottom of the cast-iron frying pan with butter, he cracked a couple of eggs for himself, and then cracked a couple more in a bowl to make the French Toast. After beating the eggs, and dipping the remains of the bread into the egg yolk, he placed them in the pan and seasoned them with cinnamon. He then cooked them until they were a nice golden brown and served them with some fake maple syrup.

When his eggs and bacon were done he grabbed his toast and coffee and attempted to sit down and eat his breakfast in peace until he heard Gosalyn say, "You know Dad, since it's Sunday, I was wondering if I can spend the day at Lisa's house. Every Sunday her family gets together and plays games and has a nice home-cooked meal."

Drake put down his toast and looked over at his daughter and replied, "We play all sorts of neat games in the park and we have a nice home-cooked meal as well."

Gosalyn rolled her eyes as she put another mouthful of French Toast, dripping with the syrup and butter, into her beak.

"Yeah, right, Dad! Your idea of games is playing typical picnic games like a three-legged race and that silly sack race of yours. And I don't exactly call burgers and fries from the Hamburger-Hippo a home-cooked meal!"

Launchpad chuckled as he helped himself to another helping of French Toast and poured some syrup onto the plate.

Drake inquired, "What, you don't have fun working together to accomplish a set goal? I always have a lot of fun with you, and I enjoy watching you and Launchpad fall many times as he and you are trying to beat your and my record."

"That's just it, Dad; there's supposed to be real competition from other people and it's supposed to be two two-people teams racing each other to the 'Finish' line! You just have me and Launchpad, and then me and you race each other against the clock. That's corny! I wanna go to Lisa's house and play soccer, hockey, or baseball."

Drake was starting to get slightly peeved and said, "I think you're missing the point here, Gosalyn. It's not about how fast we go; it's about being able to work with your partner to accomplish a goal. If you want to become an effective crime fighter, you have to learn how to work well with others."

"Yeah, right, Dad! Like YOU really work well with others! Every time Gizmoduck or any of the other Justice Ducks try to help you, you always say, 'I can handle this myself.' Then you always end up falling flat on your beak just like you do when YOU try to beat Launchpad's and my record in the sac race!"

Ignoring the last comment, the purple-robed mallard then shot his daughter an angry look.

"You know, Gosalyn, I don't like you going over there. I realize Lisa is your age, and she does seem very nice, but…"

"But WHAT, Dad!?" Gosalyn interjected. "Every time I meet somebody new, you always have SHUSH do a complete criminal background check on their entire family!"

Drake blushed and said, "I do not, Gosalyn! You're exaggerating, as always!"

"Oh yeah? Remember when I met that boy from Duckburg in the arcade? You DID do a complete background check on his entire family! I'm surprised you didn't do a background check on their Siamese Cat!"

Launchpad put down his fork long enough to breathe and added, "She's right, DW. Every time she meets someone, you have SHUSH do a complete background check on them. Do we have any orange juice?"

Drake looked at Launchpad and went over to open the six-pane glass kitchen cupboard door and reached for two glasses. Then he opened the refrigerator door to retrieve the orange juice and poured the juice into the cups. As he served the juice and replaced the half empty carton back in the old white Sears Cold Spot refrigerator, he chuckled and said, "Oh yeah, I did. Didn't I."

The embarrassed mallard looked away, then back at Gosalyn. He gently cupped her lower beak with his feathered hand and said, "Well, I'm just protecting my daughter from the evil that lurks in the shadows."

"Hey, Dad! Whether you realize it or not, I can take care of myself! After all, I am Quiverwing Quack! And don't YOU forget it!"

"How can I? You always remind me every time I leave this house on a mission. Anyway, I did find out that the boy's father was a fugitive of the Saint Canard Justice system!" Drake said proudly as he put his thumbs inside the lapels of his robe and inhaled deeply.

"Yeah, right, Dad. Sam's father just had some unpaid parking tickets! What are you trying to save me from? Renegade parking scofflaws? A real big fugitive! He only got those tickets because he drives for the UPS, and he was forced to park in a non-parking zone. What do you want him to do? Carry the packages fifty blocks just to follow the law?"

"Still, laziness is no excuse for breaking the law. Besides, Gosalyn, I'm only trying to look out for your safety is all. You can never be too careful in today's world."

Gosalyn crossed her arms and glared at her father, saying, "You cost me another friend! Poor Sam; he was so embarrassed after you exposed all those unpaid parking tickets that he never wanted to see me again. Dad, why do you have to be so overprotective? You're always treating me like a baby!"

"Yeah, DW, you _are _overprotective." Launchpad interjected as he grabbed his fifth helping of French Toast. The hungry pilot noticed that his boss hadn't touched his bacon and asked, "Uh, you gonna eat that, DW?"

Before Drake could respond, he noticed his bacon had already sprouted legs and disappeared into the beak of his sidekick.

"I am _not _overprotective! I don't mind Gosalyn hanging around with Lisa in school, but I don't like her going over to her house, unsupervised. Ever since her wacky family moved across the street, there have been some strange things going on in that house. I mean, they're so weird they actually make the _Muddlefoots _look normal, and that's one scary thought!"

Drake thought he would finish his eggs up before his famished friend would finish them for him. He looked over at Gosalyn and he noticed that she crossed her arms and she had snarled her beak. She then spoke.

"You don't trust me, Dad! When are you gonna start trusting me!"

Drake looked at his daughter as he got up and turned on the hot water to do the breakfast dishes.

"I trust you, Gosalyn, but I don't trust that father of hers! He really gives me the creeps. Besides, Gosalyn, I thought you could spend the day with LP and me…"

"Doing what? Going to the park??" Gosalyn said as she cut off her father. "Or seeing one of your corny old time movies??" As she rolled her green eyes, she said, "That sounds like fun, Dad." Then under her breath, she said, "As much fun as watching grout mildew."

"Well…!" was the only word Drake was able to spit out after the Flashquack, the minature version of the Thunderquack, flew in from the open kitchen window.

"Whoops!" Drake said. He looked down at his attire and continued, "I'm not even dressed!"

The surprised mallard reached into a pocket of the purple robe and pulled out a mask. As he tied the purple cloth to his face, a screen popped up and immediately J Gander appeared.

"Ahhh, Darkwing old boy! I see you're not exactly ready to greet the world as of yet, but SHUSH has an extremely urgent matter that needs your attention."

"As soon as I get dressed, I'll be right there, J Gander! You can ALWAYS count on DARKWING DUCK!!!" Darkwing exclaimed while standing on the edge of his webbed feet with his finger in the air, making a dramatic pose for the camera of the Flashquack.

"Yes, I'm sure we can. Oh, Darkwing, remember when you arrive to please refrain from using your blue smoke." The old director took off his half glasses, wiped them with a tissue and proceeded to speak. "You realize that we," the director cleared his throat and put his spectacles back on, "have a no-smoking policy on SHUSH property and the fire department is really getting tired of you constantly setting off the alarms."

Darkwing embarrassedly said, as he showed his profile and put his finger to his beak, "OK, J Gander. No more blue smoke whenever I make my grand entrances."

"One more thing, Darkwing; try using the door this time as well. The maintenance personnel didn't take too kindly to you breaking the window when you made your so-called 'grand entrance' when I informed you that you were going to be assigned to work with Derek Blunt."

The masked mallard in a purple robe was growing more irritated about hearing his restrictions. He said, "OK, J Gander! I will be there ASAP and you don't have to worry about Darkwing Duck!! I'm on the job!"

With that the screen popped back down and immediately flew back out the window for its return flight back to SHUSH headquarters. Then Darkwing looked over to his sidekick who was finally finished with the French Toast; but Darkwing just shook his head and put his hand over his beak as he noticed Launchpad was pressing a single finger on the plate to make sure he got every last crumb into his stomach. Darkwing never understood the reason why Launchpad never got fat, considering the way he constantly shoveled food into his beak.

The mallard then asked, "LP, are you finally done?? Did you hear J Gander??" Darkwing then got very excited and said, "Yep, yep, yep! J Gander needs our help! Probably his pencil pushing protégé can't handle the job, as usual!"

The over-anxious avian put that usual finger in the air and exclaimed while Launchpad and Gosalyn just rolled their eyes.

"Well, there has NEVER been a job that SHUSH has ever thrown at me that I couldn't solve with my superior intellect, razor sharp mind, and vast knowledge of every criminal scum in the city! No job is  
too big or complex for this DUCK! No, sir!! For I am _Darkwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing Duck_!"

Gosalyn let out a big yawn and her father threw an angry look at her.

The red haired teenager said, "Gee, Dad, I guess I got caught up in your excitement. Are you just gonna stand there and brag about your abilities, or are you gonna change into your Darkwing costume?"

Darkwing followed his daughter's advice and quickly changed into his trademark costume that identified him as the "Mighty Masked Mallard" or the "Terror That Flaps In the Night." He quickly ran down the stairs and sat next to a waiting Launchpad who was already sitting in the left blue upholstered winged-backed transponder chair. The hero took his seat in the matching chair.

Just when Darkwing was about to punch the head of the statue of Basil, from the movie _The Great Mouse Detective_ that sat on a small rectangular wooden table in between the chairs, the hero noticed that certain look of mischief and excitement on his daughter's face as she walked into the living room from the kitchen.

"Keen Gear! You're going on a mission! Can I come?"

Darkwing sadly responded, "No, dear. I can't risk taking you on one of my missions."

The proud father got up and walked over to the now sad teenager and put his hand under her lower bill.

"Now, Gos! We've been through this already. This doesn't appear to be a normal patrol, and it must be pretty important because J Gander is calling on a Sunday. He is usually out golfing. Gosalyn, you mean the world to me and I can't risk your life by taking you on a mission that SHUSH assigns me. It's too dangerous, and besides, if word ever got to either J Gander or any other bumbling bureaucrat, who always screams, 'it's not in the regulations' that I took an unauthorized person, and a minor at that, on a mission, they would certainly have me tarred and de-feathered!"

The hero then planted a kiss on Gosalyn's forehead and embraced her and said, "I love you, Gosalyn!"

Gosalyn accepted the heart-warming embrace and responded, "I love you, too, Dad. You tell me that every time you leave the house to go on a mission."

As Darkwing sat back down, he gave Gosalyn a stern look.

"Gosalyn, remember I don't want you going over to Lisa's house, and I especially don't want you there alone with her father. Promise me you won't go."

Gosalyn looked down sadly at the yellow pine floorboards that laid beneath her webbed-feet and pleaded, "But why? Why can't I go?? Dad, you're just being paranoid as always!"

"Gosalyn, I can't argue about this right now. It's Sunday and it's a nice day outside. Why don't you and the Honkman go to the park. You can play baseball or soccer, or something."

Gosalyn rolled her eyes at her father and replied, "Dad, we're talking about Honker here. He really doesn't play sports." Gosalyn sighed and continued, "He's probably inside on his computer finishing his book report on Ludwig Von Drake. That's why I wanna go to Lisa's house. She's just like me; we have a lot in common and she loves to play sports!"

"Well, staying home and catching up on YOUR homework isn't such a bad idea, young lady. After all, that C- you got on your last math test was nothing to write home about. If it weren't for Honker and his many hours of trying to tutor ya in Algebra, you would have surely failed. Gosalyn, if you want to become a crime fighter," the hero said with a finger in the air, "then you must concentrate better on your studies!"

With sad eyes, Gosalyn looked up, tried to smile and said, "Ok, Dad. I'll stay home."

Darkwing smiled and said, "That's my girl! Let's go, Launchpad! The scent of crime is in the air!"

"Righto, DW!"

With that acknowledgement, Darkwing punched the head of Basil and the two crime fighters disappeared to the tower.

A/N: I hope ya enjoyed the preliminary chapter. The next chapter will be much more suspenseful! Promise!!


	2. Disappearing Diamonds

Author Notes:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Luckyduck29 and LuvvyDuck (Mouselady) for taking the time from their incredibly busy schedules to proofread this story. Guys, you are so totally awesome, and I can't thank ya enough!!! hugs

Also, I would like to personally thank all of my reviewers who gave really wonderful reviews on me first story!!! Wow! You guys are so awesome! Thank YOU!! The Ducky really appreciates them!!!

Now, as ya all know, that LordNegaduck does not own the rights to Darkwing Duck, Launchpad, J. Gander Hooter, Grizzlikoff, or any other recognizable character or figure from the Darkwing Duck series. They are owned and copyrighted by Disney.

Chapter 2 : Disappearing Diamonds

As the pilot and the caped crime fighter got into the Thunderquack, Launchpad could see that his boss was lost in thought.

"What ya thinking about, DW?"

"Oh, I don't know, LP. I just hope Gosalyn for once listens to me and doesn't go over to that girl's house."

"Why? The Quackenbridges seem like nice people to me. David is married and just had a baby. Lisa seems nice, too, and she does have a lot in common with Gosalyn," Launchpad said as he closed the glass canopy of the purple duck-billed aircraft.

"Yes, Launchpad, his wife SEEMS to be very nice, but doesn't it bother you that she's half the age of her husband! He's like…" Darkwing looked skyward and continued, "our age, I believe! I think he's around 37 or 38 years old and his wife looks like she just turned 18 yesterday."

"Actually," Launchpad corrected, "she's 26."

"Oh, yeah? And HOW DO YOU KNOW?" Darkwing inquired with an aggravated look.

"Because Gosalyn told me last week she helped celebrate her 26th birthday. Gee, DW, no reason to get excited," Launchpad said as he finally got the Thunderquack airborne over the beautiful clear waters of the Audubon Bay.

"I'm sorry, LP. But she's still half his age, and I simply don't like the situation. I just don't trust that David is all."

As the airplane was flying towards its destination, the pilot asked, "Was David married before? Lisa is Gosalyn's age, isn't she?"

Darkwing looked down at the water lapping against the shore bed and said, "Yes, I believe he was either married or just had a girlfriend. He must have! I will definitely have to do some more checking on his background," the concerned father and hero said as he slammed his fist into the palm of his other feathered hand.

"Well, so far, DW, I don't see a problem here. I mean, there's no crime in having a child from a previous failed relationship. Gosalyn is right, you're making too much of this." Launchpad stated as SHUSH headquarters came into view.

"I know, LP, but call it a gut feeling I have. There is just something about him that doesn't sit well with me."

When the Thunderquack reached its destination, the pilot expertly landed the plane in the parking lot. Being it was Sunday, Launchpad had no problem with landing the plane, since there were hardly any cars in the parking lot. Although SHUSH did have an area kept clear at all times for Launchpad to land for whenever the agency required Darkwing to assist them, Launchpad usually sideswiped a few vehicles with the wing of the aircraft that parked too close to the makeshift runway.

Darkwing cracked a smile, winked at Launchpad and said, "Well at least today you didn't leave your mark on a shiny black BMW, like you did last week. Boy, was that agent steamed at you for scratching his ride!"

Launchpad chuckled and said, "Hey, it's not my fault they park too close to where I crash!"

He then shut down the powerful jet engines and opened the glass canopy. Darkwing then looked to Launchpad and sighed.

"I guess I will have to worry about the Quackenbridges later. Right NOW, J. Gander needs me!"

"OK, DW. I'll be right here reading _The Saint Canardian_ to see how many crimes were committed last night."

"Hey, hey, hey! Last night, I made lots of arrests and don't forget I single-handedly put the breaks on those burglarizing Beagle Boys for trying to relieve the Bank of Saint Canard of their ATM!" Darkwing rubbed his feathered palms and said, "I just love it when I catch criminals red handed!"

"That ya did, DW. But according to this article, that was just a diversion to detain you for the big robbery that occurred at Scrooge McDuck's House of Gold jewelry store." Launchpad said as he read the article of how the criminal masterminds got one over on the pretentious crime fighter.

In defense, Darkwing yelled, "Well, how was I supposed to know that those beagle bandits had such a large family? Oh, sure! I guess they didn't mention how heroically I stopped those two from making off with the ATM in tow. Launchpad, I don't know how you can read that rag, any way. It's filled with nothing but bad news."

"Aw, DW, it's not a rag; it's just filled with everything that goes on in Saint Canard every day. I mean, where else can ya get headlines like 'Drug Dealing Granny Gets 20 years,' 'Cop Bopped in Head with Beer Can,' or when the psychiatric hospital burned, only _The Saint Canardian_ would have the guts to put 'Roasted Nuts' as headlines. I have to read this newspaper every day for the crime, to see what's going on in the city, DW."

"Yeah, right, LP!" Darkwing chuckled, "You read that newspaper for the Page 6 girls!"

Launchpad just looked at Darkwing and chuckled, "You know me too well, DW!"

--------------------------------------------

The confident hero left his sidekick with his newspaper and he remembered that he couldn't make his usual grand theatrical entrances in the SHUSH building because of the fire alarms. Oh, well, even though it went against his principles, he had to be like everybody else and go through security at the main entrance.

After the guard checked the caped mallard's SHUSH identification, he walked down the highly polished white-marble floor in the corridor and knocked on the door that said "Director J. Gander Hooter" that was painted in black with gold outlined letters on the frosted century-old glass.

After he heard the buzz from the door lock, he proceeded to go into J. Gander's outer office and immediately had to face J. Gander's ever-pleasant secretary who was sitting behind her desk, typing  
away on her black keyboard. Any one whoever wanted to see the director, had to first go through his charming secretary.

The small office was painted with the usual institution off-white walls, white ceiling tiles, and the standard government issued grey wall to wall carpeting. The furniture was no exception; it too, looked cheap, but served a purpose as agents, police officers, criminals, and even the occasional hero, had to sit in that waiting room until J. Gander was ready to see them. Against the walls were cheap grey upholstered chairs with metal frames and in the center of the room was a coffee table with a glass top. Unlike a dentist's or doctor's office, this waiting room had no interesting magazines to read.

The mallard sighed and said, "I'm here to see J. Gander."

She huffed and finally looked up at the waiting and impatient hero and inquired, "Do you have an appointment?"

Darkwing looked at this middle aged heavy set duck with blond hair and blue eyes in a blue suit and said, "I DON'T need an appointment!! I am…"

"Yeah, yeah, Darkworm Duck! Yeah, yeah, I know! Weren't you just released from prison?" She asked sarcastically as she eyed him through her drug-store half-glasses that were resting on her short orange beak.

Darkwing embarrassedly looked away and adjusted his grey fedora, then looked at her directly in the eyes, saying with controlled anger, "That's DARK_WING_ DUCK, and that jail thingie last month was a simple misunderstanding, and THAT'S all; nothing more!"

Waving her hand like she was shooing away flies, the brown feathered duck dismissed what the crime fighter had told her and said, "Yeah, whatever! At least you didn't set off the smoke alarms this time with that silly green smoke of yours." The mallard was pushing down on both sides of his fedora in a near fit of rage when she added, "Oh, at least Gizmoduck was there to save your tail feathers and straighten everything out with the police. Ah, yes, now I remember!"

"Well, it wasn't my fault my evil demented, diabolical double was robbing banks with my costume on, NOW WAS IT??????" Darkwing said defending his honor while making tight fists with his white feathered hands.

The secretary responded with some laughter and sarcasm, "Oh, that was Negaduck committing all those crimes! That was so cute of him." She looked up at the ceiling in a dreamy state and continued, "That Negaduck certainly knows how to get around, doesn't he?" She then focused on Darkwing and reprimanded, "That will teach ya to leave your costume just lying around anywhere, now won't it!!"

The hero looked at her with pure anger and hatred in his blue eyes, and as he was ready to respond, J. Gander buzzed her on the office intercom.

"Joan, is that Darkwing Duck I hear making all that racket out there."

"Why, yes, it is, sir. Do you want me to send him in?" The secretary responded while holding down a button on her telephone.

"Yes, Joan. Please, send in Darkwing Duck."

"Right away, sir!" She then looked at the angry crime fighter and said, "You may go in now, Dipworm."

"That's Darkwing!! Darkwing!! _Darkwing!!!_" The mallard said with much sarcasm as he opened the oak door into the Director's office.

"Ah, I see you finally made it, Darkwing, ol' boy!" said the happy director.

"Yes, J. Gander, if only I could get past your secretary just once without all the commentary." The mallard said as he addressed the Director.

J. Gander responded, "Joan, yes, well, she is a great worker, and she can be quite amusing at times."

Darkwing rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, right. A real barrel of laughs."

"She does get along with Grizzlikoff really well, and she does know how to tell some funny jokes."

"No surprise there; they seem to be two of a kind," the hero said sarcastically, "and I don't doubt she tells good jokes. I seem to be the butt of all of them! But I'm sure you interrupted my Sunday breakfast with something more to discuss then your comedian coworker."

J. Gander went behind his oaken desk to have a seat on the black leather swivel chair and rested his arms across the top of the cluttered desk.

"I am sorry I had to interrupt your day off, Darkwing, but we have a most urgent matter that requires your brand of expertise."

The excited mallard rubbed his white feathered hands together and asked, "What is it this time, J Gander? Well, whatever it is, there is nothing that Darkwing Duck can't handle!"

J. Gander said, "Yes, Darkwing. I'm quite sure you're capable of doing most anything we throw at you, but this case has us quite baffled."

"Yep, yep, yep!! That's why you called Darkwing Duck!" The purple masked mallard said as he put his thumbs in the lapels of his double breasted jacket and puffed his chest out with pride. "I guess your by-the-book brain, Grizzlikoff, couldn't figure out yet another case."

The director stood up and countered, "Now, now, Darkwing. Grizzlikoff has quite a heavy load of cases to solve, and usually completes them within a reasonable period. But this particular case is beyond our resources."

J. Gander walked over to a standard office four drawer metal filing cabinet and opened the top drawer. The mallard observed how the director reached up and into the drawer without actually seeing which file he was grabbing. Finally, he guessed he felt the file folder he wanted because he eventually had a brown file folder in his grasp.

As the director slowly walked back to his desk, Darkwing observed that his mentor was quite sleep deprived, for when he took off his bifocals and cleaned them with a Kleenex tissue that he always kept handy on his desk, he saw that his eyes were droopy and that he had large bags under them.

"My keen instincts tell me that you really have been burning the midnight oil on this case, J. Gander. You really should have called me a lot sooner." Darkwing said with a mixture of concern and excitement.

After the wise old bird was satisfied that his glasses were finally clean, he held them up to the light to make sure, and placed them back on his beak. He then handed the waiting mallard the file folder.

"Darkwing, I can see that you are most anxious to start working on this file, so I spent most of the night gathering the information my agents have collected to date. There has been a lot of man power already put into this, so we are hoping that with your knowledge, you can shed some much needed light on the subject."

J. Gander expected that Darkwing was going to gloat and he was correct. He observed that all too familiar smile come across his beak and he held the ends of his cape, stretching it, making a dramatic pose.

"J. Gander, you could have saved yourself and SHUSH a tremendous amount of time and effort if you called me earlier, ya know. You should know better than to depend on Grizzlikoff and his team of anal- retentive agents, who…" Darkwing then put his hand on his chest "…are unable to think outside the box like me. They are much too predictable and the villains know their every move."

The hero then turned his head to the left and held his hand almost at chest level, making an open fist and looking at his white feathered fingers as if he was checking his finger nails. The wise bird noticed Darkwing's look and had to set the cocky crime fighter straight.

"I beg to differ, Darkwing. Our agents are very highly trained and they must follow SHUSH procedure to the letter of the law whenever they investigate and bring a suspect to justice. Otherwise, there is a good possibility that a high priced attorney will be able to spring a criminal out of doing any serious time in the penitentiary on a simple technicality. We simply must observe the constitution, and need I remind you, Darkwing that everyone is innocent until proven guilty beyond any reasonable doubt."

The director looked up and expected Darkwing's usual reaction of rolling his blue eyes and looking up, counting the number of square ceiling tiles above him.

"Darkwing, if our agents fail to obtain a warrant to search a premises, any evidence collected at the scene would be worthless. It would only make a great souvenir or paper weight, I'm quite sure, but the worst part would be that months of investigation, leg work, man power, and SHUSH resources would all be for nothing."

The Director gave Darkwing a stern look as a father would when he reprimands his son for doing something wrong.

"Now you can stand there and count how many ceiling tiles there are in this room, but I don't need to remind you how you bungled the investigation with Ammonia Pine when Grizzlikoff assigned you and your assistant to keep a simple watch in that diaper truck."

Darkwing Duck looked over to his mentor, started to sweat and placed his index finger at the tip of his beak.

Seeing that he finally got the purple-caped mallard's attention, he took off his glasses and started to clean them as the hero said in his defense, "But J. Gander, there was no time to follow SHUSH procedure, because I knew that you had been kidnapped by the Mrs. Hyde of cleaning women and that your life could be in danger, so…"

J. Gander then continued for him, "So you thought that you would just immediately spring into action and save me all by yourself, taking full credit for your heroic deeds." The wise old bird returned his drug-store glasses to his tired feathered face, and was happy to see by the hero's face that his ego had been fully deflated and continued, "Now, Darkwing, I know you were concerned with my well being, but you wanted to do it alone and read about yourself in that next day's _Saint Canardian_ headlines. But you must realize, Darkwing, that by your actions and by not following SHUSH procedure, you might have not only cost me my life, but the very lives of you and your assistant."

Darkwing quickly changed the subject and inquired, "So, what's this new mission you're sending me out on, on such a beautiful Sunday afternoon?"

The director replied, "Darkwing, there have been massive robberies all across Saint Canard from jewelry stores, banks, convenience stores, appliance stores to schools and government buildings. And I am ashamed to say that even our own SHUSH building has not been immune."

Darkwing was very intrigued by the wide-spread crime wave that had hit Saint Canard and he instinctively put his closed feathered fist under his beak.

"So, J. Gander, have the stores and other buildings been forcibly broken into? I mean, how did the perps gain entry and does it appear to be the same perpetrator committing all the crimes, or is there some copy cat criminal who wants to get in on the action?"

J. Gander sighed and said, "That's just it, Darkwing; there were no visible signs of any forced entry into any of the buildings. My agents scoured and went over every scene of the crime with a fine-toothed comb. My agents are very thorough when collecting forensic evidence. We have reason to believe, Darkwing, that the crimes could only be committed by someone who is very intelligent, has a high knowledge of electronics, and has access to some high-priced computer equipment."

Darkwing shook his head and inquired, "what do you mean, J. Gander? What would access to computer equipment have to do with anything?"

The mallard put his white feathered hands behind his back, but under his cape.

"Hmm, computer equipment, eh? Ha ha! I know!! Security Alarm! The person must have access to the security codes to all the buildings to gain access and to silence any alarms, then they go on a shopping spree RIGHT UNDER the noses of the Saint Canard Police!"

"No, Darkwing. We thoroughly explored that possibility. Only the governmental buildings can be accessed by a key card or pad. The rest of the buildings, you still would need a good old fashioned key to gain access."

The hero then tapped his beak, analyzing the situation.

"They must have gotten in somehow! Through the roof, perhaps? Did your agents think to check the skylights?"

"Yes, Darkwing." Hooter was getting annoyed with the hero's chastising his procedure. "The buildings that had skylights or air conditioning vents that led to the roof tops were thoroughly checked for fingerprints and any sign of someone trying to break in. The only fingerprints that were left on the duct work where that of the repairmen who perform regular maintenance on the cooling system."

J. Gander anticipated Darkwing's next question.

"And no, Darkwing, not all the buildings have air conditioning units on the roof, and no common air conditioning and heating companies were used in all the crime scenes. But all the crime scenes do have one thing in common though. They all have burglar alarms and security cameras monitored by Twin Beaks Monitoring and Security Company, who has an impeccable record for providing security for the government and private businesses alike."

Darkwing rubbed his feathered palms together.

"Hmmm, now at least we have a common thread to work with; now I will have to check the backgrounds on all the employees, and …"

J. Gander suddenly cut the hero off before he got too ahead of himself.

"Darkwing, if you actually read the information contained in that dossier I just handed you, you will see that all the employee backgrounds have been all ready accomplished by my staff. Rest assured that Twin Beaks does a thorough criminal background check on all their employees before and during their employment with the company. If one employee gets as much as a speeding ticket while they are working for Twin Beaks, the company bosses will know about it."

Darkwing looked at J. Gander and asked, "Ok, looks like your men did all the leg work for me, so where do you want me to start?"

J. Gander answered, "well, Darkwing, I do believe it's best that you do another stakeout at a jewelry store located in Saint Canard's Diamond Street Jewelry District. There are five jewelry stores that have not yet been hit, and use the services of the Twin Beak Monitoring and Security Company. Twin Beaks and SHUSH alike want to find out who the perpetrator is and bring him or her to justice as soon as possible. You and your assistant will stay inside the store after hours and if a robbery takes place, you will be there to find out how they are gaining access to the store and how the items are transported out, then immediately report back here with a complete report"

A thought suddenly came to Darkwing like a lightning bolt.

"J. Gander, I was thinking that if all these places have security cameras filming each respective scene, wouldn't the cameras show who the perp is, how they gained entry, and how they're getting away with the contents of the store?"

"Yes, Darkwing. We have been over and over those surveillance tapes and all they show is footage of the buildings before and after the crime took place. It's like the merchandise just magically disappeared. That's where we come up with the conclusion that the perpetrator must have access to some pretty fancy computer equipment that actually can momentarily stop the cameras."

Darkwing gave J. Gander a salute and inquired, "So, J. Gander, exactly what is the address of this store? You know, absolutely NOTHING can past these Eagle eyes!!! For I am the DUKE of DETECTION!!" Darkwing said while putting his free hand across his chest."

"Yes, yes, Darkwing, I know. Now remember you are the actual eyes and ears of this potential crime scene; and please, no matter what happens, please give me a full report. The address of the store is located in the file."

"Will DO, J. Gander!! You can always count on Darkwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing Duck!!!" The hero said as he walked out of the Director's office and into the parking lot to brief Launchpad.

When Darkwing reached the parking lot, he found Launchpad doing exactly what he thought he would be doing as he waited for him to return, sleeping in the pilot's seat with the _Saint Canardian _newspaper over his face.

"LAUNCHPAD!" Darkwing screamed to wake him up, and when he got the intended and expected reaction from his sidekick, he said, "I'm glad to see that you're well rested because we are now on a mission! I have been assigned to do an all night stake out at a jewelry store on Diamond Street."

Darkwing opened the file folder and glanced at his assignment and noted the address and the name of the store and continued, "It seems that a calculating crafty computer criminal is going all around Saint Canard, relieving proprietors of the contents of their stores!"

Launchpad was rubbing his eyes and stretching his long arms as he was listening to their latest assignment.

"Ok, DW. Diamond Street it is. So they're stealing everything in stores all across Saint Canard?"

The pilot closed the canopy and prepared for takeoff.

"Gee, that explains why the Quack and Pack was half empty last week. I went in there to pick up a few items for my midnight snacks, and they were literally cleaned out. Do you think Ammonia Pine is behind all this, DW?"

The mallard chuckled as he fastened his safety belt.

"No, I don't believe it's Ammonia Pine unless she's working with a very clever and conniving expert on computers and cameras. It's possible that she's doing the leg work, but one thing is for sure, Launchpad; she is definitely NOT working alone and Darkwing Duck will get to the bottom of this. And I believe the only culprit of relieving the Quack and Pack of their culinary delights is you! I mean, who spends $150 each week on snacks? You came home with four bags of chocolate chip cookies, ginger snaps, potato chips, pretzels, honey glazed salted peanuts… I mean, where do you put it all?"

"You're right, DW. When I go to the Quack and Pack, I'm like a kid in a candy shop."

"You have the mind of one, too!"

"Hey, DW!" Launchpad exclaimed.

"Sorry, Launchpad. Now just land the plane in the Saint Canard Municipal parking lot closest to Diamond Street. From there we have to go to…" Darkwing re-opened the brown folder, "…508 Diamond Street, to Happy Harry's House of Diamonds."

"Righto, DW!" Launchpad answered his boss.

Once the powerful duck-billed airplane landed in one of the empty, wide-open, municipal parking lots, Darkwing and Launchpad headed for the target store, which was only a short block away.

"But, DW, how does SHUSH know the thieves are gonna strike here next?" Launchpad inquired.

"Well, Launchpad, I'm quite sure the geniuses at SHUSH have it all figured out through their so-called deductive reasoning and experience."

Darkwing put his hand to his chest.

"Of course, no one could match my deductive reasoning, or all the experiences I have lived through, but hey, at least all the leg work was done for us by the Grizzlikoff Goon Squad."

"Oh, I get it. This is the only store left in town that hasn't been robbed yet."

"Well, yes, Launchpad. I guess that's one way of putting it." Darkwing chuckled.

When the heroes arrived to a location on Diamond Street that was situated directly across the street from Happy Harry's, Darkwing observed a brown feathered duck who appeared to have a few white and yellow feathers intermixed with the brown ones and was dressed in a grey sweatshirt. He was continually going in the store empty handed and coming out with the familiar yellow plastic grocery store bags from the Quack 'N Pack.

The purple caped mallard rubbed his feathered palms together and said to his sidekick, "Hey, LP! My keen instincts tell me that this guy is making some illegal withdrawals from Happy Harry's!"

Darkwing reached into the pocket inside his cape and retrieved his binoculars.

"So, that's how they're pilfering the merchandise and making a clean get away. HA!! It's as plain as the beak on my face!!! I'm willing to bet that this sticky fingered security guard works for the Twin Beaks Security Company and is probably manipulating the controls on the cameras so they won't record his little shopping spree."

Darkwing held the binoculars with the purple visors to his face and observed up close that the "guard" was indeed going in and carrying out plastic bags filled with something. He also observed that the "guard" kept checking his watch, as if he was waiting for someone.

"But, DW, why isn't that guard dressed in his uniform, and why would he steal jewelry now, when he's got all night to do it? You know, under the cover of darkness." Launchpad asked of his boss.

"Launchpad, Launchpad, Launchpad! That guard isn't wearing his uniform because he is probably off duty on Sundays and why not go on a shopping spree while it is still daylight, and don't forget this area is heavily patrolled by the Saint Canard Police when night falls. So this provides these calculating crooks an opportune time to commit their heinous crime. Think about it; just after closing time, there is hardly anyone around anymore on Diamond Street and the Saint Canard Police haven't yet started to patrol! It's a window of opportunity!"

"Yeah, but, DW, you said stores like the Quack 'N Pack have also been robbed. How do we know this security guard even works at the Quack 'N Pack, and that store is always open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. How would he manipulate those security cameras without someone like an employee or customer catching him?"

"Why, collusion, of course, Launchpad! Don't you get it! He and the employees of the other locations are all in on this mass conspiracy! Well, I say it's about time this duck puts the brakes on their burglarized bags of booty! FOR THEY HAVE NOT YET MET THE WRATH OF DARKWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING DUCK!!" Darkwing said as he retrieved his gas gun and fired a smoke bomb towards the offending operator of crime.

When the brown duck came out of the building with another bag, he was forced to stop due to all the blue smoke, and then he heard a voice booming from somewhere in front of him, saying, "I am the Terror That  
Flaps In The Night! I am the legislator that doubles your property taxes! I am Darkwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing Duck!!! Now surrender or prepare to suck gas!" The hero said as he pointed the gas gun directly in the face of his opponent.

"B-b-b-but you don't understand. I am the manager of this establishment, and these are bags of groceries that I purchased while I went to lunch. I was storing the groceries in the office refrigerator until it was time to go home, see?" The surprised duck said while handing Darkwing the yellow plastic bag.

Darkwing put down his gas gun, accepted the bag and opened it to reveal 2 rolls of paper towels and 4 rolls of toilet paper.

"I suppose you can produce the receipt from the Quack 'N Pack that says you paid for all these groceries."

The brown feathered duck went through the packages and was finally able to get the receipt on the bottom of the bag stuffed in the trunk of his blue late model sedan.

"Ah, here ya go, Mr. Darkwing. Where were you? Your boss, J. Gander, said you would have been here about 2 hours ago, and I waited and waited. Finally, I changed out of my suit and tie and just decided to go home."

"Oh, I see," Darkwing said as he motioned for Launchpad to come across the street. When he arrived, he introduced Launchpad to the manager and said, "I'm sorry; I didn't get your name."

The brown duck reached into his shirt pocket and produced an identification card issued by Happy Harry's. It was a standard yellow wallet sized card with "Happy Harry's House of Diamonds" printed above the duck's photograph, as well as his name, which read "Martin Merganser, Director of Sales and Procurement."

Darkwing took a close look at the identification card and compared it to the duck standing before him, and when he was satisfied that this was indeed Martin Merganser, he gave it back.

Martin said, "So, J. Gander assured me that you will personally see to it that nothing will get taken tonight. There are a lot of precious stones and metal locked up in that vault, and it would be very easy for someone to sell them on the street, since the stones and metal have not yet been manufactured into jewelry."

The hero said, while pointing a finger in the air, "Have no fear, my good citizen! Nothing will get by these eyes! No criminal can slither his way past me! For I am Darkwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing Duck, the Terror That Flaps!!" Darkwing then looked at the brown duck in his eyes and asked, "Shall we go in? I want to learn and familiarize myself with every last square inch of this place."

"No problem! Follow me."

Darkwing Duck and Launchpad both followed Martin Merganser into the red-brick building. Immediately to the left were glass enclosed display cases and on the wall were more display cases. All were empty with the exception of the burgundy colored velvet liners on the backs, sides, and bottoms of the cases. Darkwing looked around the room and noticed the multiple security cameras positioned strategically on each display case, the front door, the cash register, and he had to laugh when he saw a camera above the doors to the rest rooms.

He inquired, "Are there cameras that show the customers entering and exiting the premises from outside the building?"

"Yes, Mr. Darkwing. We have security cameras in the back parking lot, as well as a hidden camera located on the front porch ceiling."

Darkwing went outside and looked up to see that there was a camera in the wooden ceiling of the front porch that just covered part of the sidewalk. He observed that the camera could be pointed in any direction by remote control to give a bird's eye view of the sidewalk on both sides, the back of the camera, and the front.

"Who operates and watches the monitors of these cameras?" Darkwing inquired.

"Well, during business hours," Martin said while nervously scratching the back of his neck, "We have regular personnel whose job it is to watch the monitors to keep the building and its inventory safe. And if they happen to catch an emergency situation taking place, they are instructed to notify the Saint Canard Police, immediately."

"Who does the monitoring at night?"

"Well, our security company, Twin Beaks, does that from a remote location. Mr. Darkwing, if there aren't any further questions, please excuse me. I told my wife that I would be home by 5:00 and now it appears to be around 6:00. The vault will remain open for your inspection; just remember, if ya go inside don't close the vault door. It's a timed lock, and once the lock is engaged, it will remain locked until the next morning. There is a Hamburger Hippo just down the street if you are hungry; if ya want, I can pick ya up a few burgers."

"Yes, that will be fine, and you probably will have to get four more for my sidekick here. He has quite the appetite!"

"Did someone mention Hamburger Hippo? Oh, can ya get me six hamburgers, and some fries? Here's some money." Launchpad said as he dug into his pocket to give Martin some money to reimburse him for the food bill.

"No, that's all right, sir. Just you two being here is payment enough. Now, I can go to sleep at night knowing that someone competent is looking out for our inventory. I'll be right back." Martin said while looking at Darkwing.

"Put all your fears aside! For nothing will get by this Duck!!"

Martin nodded and said, "I hope not. The entire inventory of precious metals and stones are in that vault, not to mention everyone's livelihood who works here."

"Don't you have insurance to cover thefts?" Launchpad asked.

"At the moment, _no_; because with all the unsolved robberies in town, our insurance company cancelled our policy just because the store is located in Saint Canard," Martin said with much worry on his face. "That's why Happy Harry's consented to do this sting with SHUSH. It's really a last resort. I really hope you can catch these criminals tonight. Then we can all sleep easier."

"Pffft! You have nothing to worry about. Nothing gets by _this _Duck! For I am Darkwiiiiiiiiing Duck! I am the spider that captures all slippery serpents within my web of justice! No nefarious criminal stands a chance against Darkwing Duck!" The hero said while Martin rolled his eyes and said, "I'll be right back with your food."

-----------------

As the sun was going down on another peaceful Sunday, our heroes were busily eating the burgers and fries that were delivered by Martin. When Darkwing was finished eating his meal, he told Launchpad, "Now we wait for those devious diamond demanding derelicts to show up."

"But how does SHUSH know they're actually gonna rob Happy Harry's tonight." Launchpad asked while polishing off his sixth hamburger and wiping his beak with a napkin.

Darkwing laughed and said, "SHUSH has it all figured out. And if they're wrong, there will be egg on Grizzlikoff's face, and not mine!"

Suddenly Darkwing felt his cell phone start to vibrate in the pocket of his purple cape.

"Oh, this is probably Gosalyn checking in."

After opening the phone to answer the call, Darkwing said, "Hello…Oh, hi, J. Gander; what can I do ya for?...What? I can't hear you too well…you keep drifting in and out." The hero said as he was getting frustrated with all the static in his ear.

"You probably can't talk in here, DW because the walls are too thick and made of solid concrete. Take it outside and maybe you'll get better reception."

"Wait, J. Gander. I'll take this outside, then I can hear ya better."

Once Darkwing's webbed feet crossed the threshold of the building, the reception came in loud and clear.

"Now, that's better…WHAT!!"

Launchpad instinctively came running out to see why Darkwing was getting so upset.

"She WAS ARRESTED??? FOR WHAT!!! J. Gander, you have to send someone hear right away to relieve me and Launchpad! I have to get to the Saint Canard Police Station! OK, how long will it take for them to get here?"

Launchpad observed that Darkwing appeared to be in a complete state of shock. He was just staring at the wall with his hand still on the cell phone, but his hand had dropped to his side.

"DW, what is it? What's wrong?" When he didn't get any response, he got in front of the masked mallard and asked, "DW, Darkwing? What's wrong? Tell me."

It wasn't until Launchpad got directly in front of the mallard, grabbed his arms, and shook him that he got a response.

"J. Gander said that Gosalyn has just been arrested."

"Come on, DW. Arrested? Arrested for what?" Launchpad asked.

"_Murder." _Darkwing said in a quiet voice as he shook his head.

"Murder; that's impossible, DW. There must be some mistake. She was home…" Launchpad said trying to comfort his boss.

Then, as they both stood staring at the building before them, a bright, blinding light suddenly shown through the windows from the inside.

"Did ya see that, DW?"

"Yes, Launchpad!! I guess we better check it out." Darkwing said in a monotone, depressed voice.

When the two crime fighters entered the building, everything in the vault was gone. There was no money, nor were there any precious stones or metal; just a blank, desolate room where bags of money from the daily receipts once were piled against the walls and where precious stones, silver and gold bars, and manufactured jewelry once were stacked on the vault's gray metal shelving that lined the walls.

Darkwing and Launchpad were amazed and stared at each other.

"How could this have happened? How could all that money and all those jewels just disappear into thin air like that?"

Then Darkwing felt a strange presence from behind him and quickly turned around to see a very angry Agent Grizzlikoff staring at his back.

"Darkving, so I zee that I came just in time, before you got avay." The gray-suited Russian-accented bear said to the hero as he was reaching behind his back and walking towards them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Phew! Sounds like Gosalyn got in a wee bit of trouble there, as if Darkwing all ready didn't have his hands full!! And isn't like Grizz to show up at the most inopportune time, just as all the jewels have disappeared! I hope ya enjoyed this first chapter, and please review. Don't worry Negaduck fans, there will be plenty of him in later chapters!!!

In keeping with Disney tradition of naming characters after ducks or having duck or other waterfowl in the name, the word _merganser _for my character Martin, is a type of duck that is more commonly found on the west coast of the United States and also Europe and Asia. Males and females are easily distinguished, since the male has a dark green head, while the female is a reddish brown. They mostly eat fish, mussels, shrimp, and aquatic insects. Unlike other ducks which pretty much have curved bills, like Darkwing Duck, mergansers have serrated edges to their bills to help them grip and strip their prey.

Also a note about _The Saint Canardian_, I adapted the name for Saint Canard's daily newspaper from the newspaper The Ducky can not live a day without reading. I live and work in Trenton, New Jersey and our daily newspaper is _The Trentonian_, and they have screaming headlines that Lauchpad was reciting to Darkwing. I will say that those headlines were real and were not made up by this author. They were the actual headlines that appeared on _The Trentonian_. And the "Page 6 Girls" that Darkwing was referring to is the daily girl that is featured on _The Trentonian_'s Page 6 and she is clad in a bathing suit. Gotta love _The Trentonian_!


	3. The Great Escape

\/p>

Author's Notes: Thank YOU So Much to every one who left GREAT REVIEWS! HUGS The  
Duck really appreciates them! And a VERY Special Thank YOU Goes to my two betas, LuvvyDuck  
and Luckyduck29, who have taken time out of their very busy schedules to proofread the Ducky's story. You GUYS ARE SO AWESOME! HUGS

In addition, The Ducky would also like to give a special Thanks to Luckyduck29 for letting the Ducky  
use her two original characters, Saint Canard City Police Officers Charlie Shepherd and Angora Calico.  
I really took a liking to Luckyduck29's police officer characters in her awesome stories, starting with  
"New Beginnings," "You Reap What You Sew," and of course our fun Darkwing Duck Role Playing  
Game, "Tronsplitters, Monarchs, and Loot! Oh MY!" Officers Annie and Charlie are not only very  
fun characters to work with, but are allies to Darkwing Duck from the Saint Canard City Police Force; because we all know that Darkwing Duck does not have many friends within the halls of blue. 

Officers Annie Calico and Charlie Shepherd are the creation and copyright of Luckyduck29 and were  
used with her written permission. Darkwing Duck, Gosalyn Mallard, Launchpad McQuack, J. Gander Hooter, and Grizzlikof are the creations and copyrights of The Disney Corporation, and as such this  
story was written for pure enjoyment. 

------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3: The Great Escape 

Upon seeing the suspicious bear, the nervous mallard looked at his partner with a mixture of anger and worry in his blue eyes.

"Oh, great! This is all I need right now! Grizzlikof! This is JUST great! As if Gosalyn's arrest and  
the disappearing gems weren't enough, now I have to deal with HIM!"

Darkwing slapped his hand over his feathered face. 

Launchpad looked at his long-time friend and said, "Well, they say things happen in threes, DW." 

"Launchpad, you're NOT helping."

Darkwing then looked at the offensive and oversized bear and scowled.

"Grizzlikof, what are you doing here? This is MY case, so just butt out!" 

"J Gander zent me here to relieve you, but I can zee that you already carried out your plan," Grizzlikof said, as he was looking all around at the empty vault. 

The mallard's mood turned darker as he snarled his beak and hissed, "Grizzlikof, just what are you talking about?"

"I am talking about the stolen diamonds and gems that used to be in this vault."

"Darkwing Duck---_steal_?" The mallard inquired as he put his hands to his chest, "I have never stolen anything in my life! And just how do you suppose I carried that entire precious inventory out? _Hmmmm_?"

The Chief Agent of SHUSH looked over at Darkwing and Launchpad and shot back, "There vas over ten million dollars vorth of precious stones and gems in this vault that I personally took inventory of myself, thank you very much!"

The mallard gestured by putting both hands on his breast, saying, "Well, I certainly didn't steal them! It's not like my pockets are big enough to hold all those rocks."

Out of sarcasm, the rebellious duck turned the pockets of his purple double-breasted coat out for the bear to see.

"Vell, it's not likely they just valked out of here on their own."

"Grizzlikof, why don't ya use that enormous empty head of yours for a change? This place has cameras everywhere. Why would I steal some lousy rocks when I know that it's being recorded on tape?" 

"Because you know how to manipulate the security cameras."

The mallard started to roll up his sleeves and began to go into his fighting stance with his feathered fists of fury up. He elevated his left webbed foot, getting ready to pounce on the bear and give him a kick to the stomach.

Launchpad observed that look of rage and hatred in the mallard's ice blue eyes towards the bull-headed bear and suddenly spoke in Darkwing's defense.

"Uh, uh, they disappeared when DW and I stepped outside to answer a phone call. Honest."

"Vhat? You purposely left your assigned post to answer your cell phone? This is a serious breach of SHUSH regulations. You were purposely assigned to this post to keep watch, and again you have failed your mission!" 

With flaring nostrils and the usual baring of his white sharp fangs, Grizzlikof looked at Launchpad and asked, "Why didn't you give the phone to him?"

The bear glared at Darkwing and demanded a response. 

The hero turned towards the big-mouthed pilot, snarled and put a hand over his beak to cover it and said, "Nice going, Launchpad!" 

"Sorry, DW," the pilot said sheepishly.

The mallard turned his attention back to the opposition.

"Listen; I couldn't get any reception in here, so I stepped outside. As it turns out, it was from J. Gander, YOU DOPE!" The hero crossed his arms and retorted, "Wouldn't handing an official SHUSH cell phone to an unauthorized person also be a breach of SHUSH regulations, as well? And Launchpad did stay behind while I went outside to take the call, but..." 

Darkwing knew he had the bear right where he wanted him, silenced. He could see that Grizzlikof was furious and that his anger was building by the minute. Usually the duck enjoyed making Grizzlikof's  
blood pressure rise, but for right now he had only one thing on his mind; getting to his daughter as soon  
as possible. Then IT spoke.

"So, you put a non-authorized person in charge of guarding millions of dollars worth of inventory? Any noodle nut with some common sense would know not to do that. Don't you think it's better to risk a $30 cell phone to millions of dollars worth of precious stones? Which is the lesser of two evils here, Darkving? It's not difficult to figure out. SHUSH regulations…"

Before the mallard had a chance to respond, the grey suited bear pulled out a thick black vinyl book that read _The SHUSH Field Guide Manual_ and continued, "…Regulation 17.5:3 specifically states, 'No unauthorized person or persons that have not yet been cleared by a complete SHUSH Criminal Background is prohibited to accompany SHUSH personnel while on official business." 

As the regulation-obsessed bear was busily quoting the scripture from his precious rule book, Darkwing Duck slowly reached into the inside pocket of his cape and retrieved a smoke bomb. It was well known across the law enforcement community and the criminal gangs alike that the purple masked mallard was an expert escape artist. Whenever Darkwing was in a jam and saw an opportune time to flee the scene, he looked over to Launchpad and gave him the signal.

Launchpad had been working with Darkwing long enough to instantly read his face as the two always worked as a team. As the magical mallard slowly and silently loaded a smoke charge into his gas gun, Darkwing looked at Launchpad and tilted his head. As if on cue, the faithful sidekick then stood directly behind the hero and put both of his hands on Darkwing's shoulders. 

Once Darkwing felt the touch of his sidekick, he mockingly said, "Tootles, Griz!"

The mallard then pulled the trigger to discharge the smoke bomb and the vault suddenly filled with the trademark blue smoke, billowing from the metal canister. By the time Grizzlikof looked up from his SHUSH bible and the blinding blue smoke had vacated the vault, Darkwing Duck and his faithful sidekick were already gone. 

Launchpad and the purple clad duck emerged from the blue smoke outside on the sidewalk, startling some window shoppers who were strolling down Diamond Street. 

"Nice trick, DW. That's one way to ditch Grizzlikof."

"Oh, it's just a little thing I learned along the way. Now come on, LP. We have to get to the Saint Canard Police Station."

Darkwing picked up his pace to the Thunderquack. 

In all the years that Launchpad had known Darkwing, as a father, friend, and crime fighter, he had never looked as worried as he did right now.

"There's gotta be some misunderstanding, DW. I mean, Gosalyn would never murder anyone."

When they reached the Thunderquack, the masked hero just got in without saying a word. After the expert pilot got the aircraft ready for take off, he looked over at Darkwing and noticed that he had buried his feathered face in his hands and was visibly shaking like he was crying. 

The faithful friend flawlessly flew Darkwing directly to the Saint Canard Police Station, and expertly landed the high-tech aircraft in the rear parking lot. Launchpad knew that the Thunderquack would be out of everyone's way, as the rear parking lot was used to store cars and other vehicles that had been impounded--- for such reasons as, but not limited to, drug dealers who had been arrested and their property confiscated. The vehicles were parked in a tow-away zone, or abandoned on the city streets. 

Launchpad could see Darkwing's tears as they rolled down from his eyes and were absorbed by his feathery cheeks.

The comforting companion put his arm around Darkwing and offered, "Come on, DW. You know Gosalyn would never do anything to hurt anyone on purpose." 

Through swollen eyes and tears, the duck looked up and responded, "I know, Launchpad. I know that she disobeyed me by going out of the house and she more than likely went over to Lisa's house instead of staying home to study like she was supposed to." 

Darkwing calmed down, looked down at his lap and continued, "I just can't stop blaming myself for not being there when Gosalyn truly needed me the most. Oh, Launchpad, I am such a lousy father. I can't help but feel like I've failed both Gosalyn and J. Gander tonight; I guess I'm a lousy crime fighter _and _a lousy father."

The hero put his hands to his beak and sighed.

"Launchpad, with all the crime fighting and the constant calls from SHUSH, I'm barely there for Gosalyn. She craves my attention, and I really can't blame her for wanting to go over to Lisa's. I have this gut feeling, though…"

Just as Darkwing was completing his thought, there was a loud knock on the glass canopy of the Thunderquack. Darkwing looked out his side window as the figure shown a flashlight directly into his sensitive blue eyes. 

After the pilot's eyes adjusted, he could make out the silhouette of a policeman's uniform. Darkwing then saw the officer on his side tap the glass again with the end of the flashlight and displayed what appeared to be a badge.

"Launchpad, I think this is where the plot thickens," the hero said as he observed the pilot opening the cockpit canopy. 

When the tempered glass was raised, the observant pilot immediately was greeted by what appeared to be a dog in a Saint Canard City Navy-Blue Policeman's uniform. He again displayed his badge in one hand and held the flashlight to Launchpad's face with the other, shining that bright, blinding light directly in his baby- blue eyes. Launchpad tried to study the policeman's physique as best he could, and he thought that he recognized him from before. 

The police officer on Darkwing's side appeared to the nervous mallard as a short, female feline, who was dressed in the standard navy-blue, city issued, police uniform with a light blue strip going down both pant legs. The observant mallard noticed her chrome-colored badge as, "Saint Canard City Police Department, State of Calisota," that completely surrounded the Great Seal of the City, which was an eagle spreading its wings. A United States Flag was leaning from right to left and a State of Calisota flag was leaning left to right. The State Flag had a wild duck spreading its wings high above the mountains and the slogan at the bottom, "Live Free and Prosperous." Both flags formed an "X" in front of the eagle. Underneath the badge was her assigned number, "SC-975324." His eyes moved up to her chrome name plate, which read "Angora Calico."

The hero remained silent as she shone her flashlight around the interior of the Thunderquack, fully shining that bright beam of light in every nook and cranny of the duck-billed aircraft. The mallard knew that this was standard procedure for all police officers as they had to search all vehicles that they approached with their eyes to make sure there were no illegal weapons, contraband, or other dangerous controlled substances, such as drugs or alcohol. 

"Mr. Drake Mallard?" Officer Angora asked in a monotone voice.

"You mean Darkwing Duck."

"No, I mean _Drake Mallard_. Let's see some identification."

"But, I…"

"You better cooperate with them, DW," Launchpad advised.

The male officer asked Launchpad for his pilot license and aircraft registration in a heavy New York accent. 

"Yes, sir," Launchpad responded as he reached into the small compartment located directly in front of Darkwing and retrieved the necessary documents from an old, weathered, brown wallet that had been given to Launchpad by his father, Ripcord McQuack, back when Launchpad first got his pilot's license. Darkwing, on the other hand, was still nervously searching for his proper identification through the pockets of his cape. 

"Here ya go, Officer. I think that's everything ya need," Launchpad said as he noticed that the officer's name plate read "Charles Shepherd."

The officer removed the light from his eyes and now focused the white beam on the state-issued documents. As Officer Charles fully examined Launchpad's documents, Darkwing was finally able to produce some identification for Officer Angora. 

"Here ya go, Officer. Sorry, it seems I had left my driver's license in my motorcycle, The Ratcatcher, but this is my SHUSH identification card, which I believe should be sufficient." The mallard said as he handed her the plastic identification card that contained a photo of the white-feathered mallard in full costume and gave his name as "Darkwing Duck."

She carefully compared the photo on the card to the duck that was sitting before her, and had confirmed that this was indeed Darkwing Duck.

"Hmmm, says here your address is located at the Audubon Bay Bridge. How is that possible?" The officer questioned.

"Well, Officer, in the tower is where I have my crime fighting lab and a most state-of-the-art computer system. It's my office, so to speak."

"Oh."

Officer Angora walked over to her partner from across the plane and handed him Darkwing's identification card.

Darkwing looked behind him and saw the officers talking and knew that they had to check to see if there were any warrants or judgments that were held against Launchpad or him, and they had to ascertain whether or not Launchpad's license and registration were up to date and not expired or revoked. "This is all standard procedure," the mallard thought. 

He noticed the male officer finally get out of the car after about what seemed to be hours, but it was actually only about twenty minutes.

The officers resumed to their respective side of the Thunderquack and asked in unison, "We need you to step out of the vehicle and stand by the front of the aircraft."

Darkwing inquired, "Why? Are we under arrest? We don't have time for this nonsense! My daughter has just been arrested for a crime I KNOW she didn't commit and I want to see her RIGHT NOW!"

"Sir, we just need you to fully cooperate with us, then we can take you to your daughter." Officer Angora said in a stern manner. "Just step out of the vehicle and stand by the front of the airplane."

Launchpad leaned in close to Darkwing and advised, "Ya better do what they say, DW. Ya know, I can't quite place their faces, but their voices sound so familiar to me." 

Launchpad got up and exited the Thunderquack as told, and walked towards the lip of the "duck bill" of the purple-colored aircraft. Darkwing quickly took Launchpad's advice and got out of the aircraft and stood opposite of the pilot, next to the tip of the aircraft's duck bill.

In his New York accent, Officer Charles ordered, "Now, Darkwing, I want you to stand next to your pilot here and place your hands on the hood with your legs spread apart like so."

The officer than demonstrated to Launchpad and Darkwing how he wanted them as he was going to perform the standard police search. Officer Angora followed Darkwing and stood directly behind Charles, as she was trained to cover her partner anytime there was going to be a search performed on a person. As she knew that these two were not hardened criminals and that they were performing the examination of their person for both safety reasons and for following proper protocol , Officer Angora didn't feel the need to have her gun drawn as her partner was about to perform the search. 

Officer Charles then asked, "Before I perform the search, are there any weapons or illegal paraphernalia on your person that I should know about?" 

Launchpad suddenly said, "Now I know where I know ya from, Officer! You were the one who helped me find DW after the explosion on Canard Tower." 

The determined officer didn't respond as he patted Launchpad down with the back of his hand and felt to see if Launchpad was hiding anything under his clothes from his chest right down to his boots. 

After the officer was satisfied that the pilot was not carrying any weapons, he then asked Darkwing, who looked quite annoyed, "Do you have any weapons or any paraphernalia that I should know about? If so, please place them on the hood of the aircraft."

The mallard looked up and sighed.

"Whatever will make ya happy, officer."

Darkwing reached into the pockets of his cape and brought out his gun, and held it at both ends, displaying it to the police.

"This is my gas gun."

He then placed it on the hood as instructed. The hero reached back into his cape and displayed his smoke cartridges to the officers who were standing there with their arms crossed. Officer Angora took a canister from Darkwing and observed it as a grey metal cylinder with a pull pin on top.

'What is this? Is this a hand grenade? You know it's illegal, if not dangerous, for civilians to be carrying these."

"That is NOT a hand grenade! It's a smoke bomb used to distract evil doers! Didn't ya ever see one of my grand entrances?"

"No. What else ya got?" Officer Angora asked while rolling her eyes.

As Darkwing huffed and complied with the officer's demands, he slowly put his hands back into his cape and retrieved his custom binoculars complete with purple visors above the lenses and radar and placed it carefully on the hood of the Thunderquack.

"Here; this is all I have. Now will YOU please frisk me all ready! I want to see Gosalyn!"

Officer Charles performed the search on the frustrated and anxious mallard; starting with the back of his hand, he pressed the purple and hot pink cape against Darkwing's body, and slowly felt from the mallard's neck right down to his tail feathers. 

When the officer was thoroughly satisfied that Darkwing no longer had any weapons on him, he instructed his partner to collect Darkwing's items and place them in a Ziploc evidence bag and lock them in the trunk of the patrol car for safe keeping. 

"Would ya mind telling me why ya confiscated my state-of-the-art crime fighting equipment?" Darkwing inquired as he turned around to face the officers and put his hands on his hips. 

After Angora placed Darkwing's priceless items in the trunk, Charles began to speak. 

"Yes, Mr. McQuack, it was me who helped you rescue your friend after the explosion, and Officer Annie here drove the little girl back to the orphanage."

Launchpad turned around as well and cupped his lower bill with his feathered hand.

"Sorry, I didn't recognize ya at first, but I did remember your accent."

Darkwing, growing ever more impatient, screamed, "Would somebody please explain what happened with Gosalyn!"

The excited mallard was flapping his arms up and down.

"Now enough all ready with the chit chat! I wanna see Gosalyn!"

All three stared at the angry mallard and just figured it would be best to let him calm down on his own.

After it appeared that Darkwing's heavy breathing had returned back to normal, Officer Angora said in a calm, soothing voice, "If you want to see your daughter, I suggest you calm yourself down."

"Calm DOWN? Calm DOWN? You actually expect me to calm down when my daughter has been arrested for a crime I KNOW she didn't commit!"

"Sir, I know how you feel right now, but getting upset is not going to help your daughter."

Launchpad walked over to his partner and placed his gentle hand on the mallard's shoulder.

"You and I both know Gosalyn is completely innocent and flying off the handle isn't gonna accomplish anything."

In his heart, Darkwing knew that Launchpad was right and bursting a blood vessel wasn't going to do Gosalyn any good right now. For he knew that he had to keep himself sedated enough to think in a clear and cognitive manner. 

"Ok. All right; I'm sorry." Darkwing said as he put his hand over his beak and was still visibly shaking. "Um, can we go see her now?" He said in a very calm, low and barely audible voice. 

"If you will kindly step into the back of the patrol car, Officer Annie and I will take you to Saint Canard General." The officer said as he opened the driver's side back door of the city issued standard black and white police car. 

"Saint Canard General?" Darkwing questioned with much worry.

The two officers looked at each other and Officer Annie then spoke.

"When our investigating officers found Gosalyn at the scene, she was unconscious from what appeared to be tranquilizers and sleeping pills. The medication bottles were completely empty and found lying next to her person." 

"Suicide? Gosalyn was trying to commit _suicide_? This can't be!"

"That's what the officer in charge thought when he evaluated the scene of the crime. Now please take a seat in the back and we'll brief you on the way to the hospital." Officer Charlie said as he held the door open for the mallard.

Darkwing Duck took the officer's advice and sat on the cheap, black vinyl bench seat that was standard issue in all patrol cars. He had to move his feathered bottom over to the right to let Launchpad in. Unfortunately, the masked mallard neglected to gather his cape, which was draped across the seat. When Launchpad sat down, he failed to take notice of the hero's cape, and he practically choked the mallard. 

"LP, would you mind lifting your butt just a scootch, so I can breathe again?"

Launchpad hoisted himself up and apologized.

"Sorry, DW, but I didn't see your cape when I got in."

As the pressure was relieved from around the mallard's neck, Darkwing sighed, rolled his eyes at Launchpad, and gathered the purple material and neatly placed it on his lap. Once the passengers were seated, Officers Charlie and Annie took their respective places, Officer Charles in the driver's seat and Annie in the passenger's. 

Darkwing asked in complete shock and horror, "Is Gosalyn all right? I mean, is she still unconscious?"

As Officer Charles started the car and drove to the hospital, Officer Annie answered all of Darkwing's questions to the best of her knowledge. 

"I'm not sure actually," Annie responded while biting her lip. "We'll get a full report when we arrive at the hospital." 

The mallard looked out the window and shook his feathered head in complete disbelief.

"So, they think that Gosalyn killed exactly _who _again? And then she attempted to commit suicide? Yeah, right!"

"The deceased is Christine Quackenbridge, the wife of Mr. David Quackenbridge, and the gun was found beside the suspect." Charlie said as he was trying to concentrate on the road.

"So! _Anybody _could have shot her! Lisa, who is David's daughter, or even David himself! Anybody could have planted that gun right next to Gosalyn and then drugged her later. I mean just because there was a gun found next to Gosalyn doesn't mean that she shot her. Whose gun was it? Where would Gosalyn even get a gun? None of this is making any sense!" Darkwing said as he was pounding his fist into the palm of his other hand. "And what possible reason would Gosalyn have for killing Mrs. Quackenbridge. Ya gotta have a pretty good reason for killing someone. Nope! I'm having a very hard time believing any of this nonsense." 

As Charlie stopped at the light at the corner of East Farnsworth and Feather Streets, which was now only a block away from their destination, he suddenly spoke.

"Details are very sketchy at best right now, Mr. Darkwing, but the leading investigator found one of Gosalyn's feather fragments on the trigger of the gun."

"So, who's to say that it wasn't planted there?"

Annie turned around and looked at Darkwing's sad blue eyes through the black metal cage that separated the front seat from the back.

"I want you to know that Charlie and I will do everything possible to help Gosalyn. But as fellow law enforcers, you know we can't approach this case filled with rage and emotion. If we're gonna be any good to Gosalyn, we need to examine all the facts and circumstances, weigh the evidence, and make a proper determination. Only then can we build our strategy to get your daughter out of this mess." 

The light finally turned green and Officer Charlie proceeded to the hospital parking lot.

"We'll do everything possible for your daughter; we just need you to fully cooperate with us, Darkwing Duck." Charles said as he pulled into his desired spot. 

Darkwing said nothing as he just sat and stared at the cage in front of him. The hero focused his blue eyes on the metal cage before him, as it hit him what Gosalyn's life would be like behind bars.

Grizzlikof was fully enraged as his boss, Director J. Gander Hooter, arrived at Happy Harry's House of Diamonds in his black, government issued, Ford LTD Crown Victoria, complete with all the bells and whistles.

"Director Hooter, Darkving got avay before I could fully question him. Ve should have the Saint Canard PD put out an APB on his whereabouts and have his tail feathers immediately brought in here for questioning.

"Now, now, Agent Grizzlikof, I don't believe Darkwing Duck is responsible for the disappearance of the contents of this safe, but it would be very interesting indeed to hear his explanation of what transpired here tonight."

J. Gander sighed as he looked around the once, full vault and looked at Grizzlikof. "An APB won't be necessary as I already know where he is, and I will question him myself."

As the tired director turned and started to walk out the door, the agent asked, "Should I have the lab boys come down here and give the place a look over to see if there have been any clues left behind?"

J. Gander didn't even bother to turn around and just waved his hands as if swatting away a fly, and said, "Yes, I guess so. They won't find anything, but just to be completely thorough and cover all of our bases, let's go ahead and see if they can shed some more light on the subject. Who knows? Maybe this time they actually left something of theirs behind."

Author's Notes: The Ducky wishes to apologize if this chapter seemed to be a wee long with the details of how Officers Charlie and Angora approached Darkwing Duck and Launchpad. During many lunches at Louie's (the local watering hole in beautiful and MOST scenic downtown Trenton) the ducky interviewed me friend, who is a Trenton City Police Officer. He described the way he would approach the situation when taking family members to visit their loved one who is a prisoner and in the hospital. Ya gotta remember that the hospital is not a secure, locked down prison, so the police officers have to be extra cautious since the family member may help the prisoner to escape. The procedure described in this chapter is standard protocol that is prescribed by the New Jersey State Police and is followed by all law enforcement agencies. 

\/p> 


End file.
